NOTES AND QUERIES.
Folk-Lore at the Columbian Exposition.—If the Anthropological Building has been late in completion, the display is now most interesting. The value and curiosity of the archæological exhibits will first attract attention; but those more closely connected with folk-lore are well worthy of notice. An account is elsewhere printed of the cases devoted to the presentation of objects used in games. A very curious and complete exhibition of objects connected with Chinese worship in America is made by the Archæological Department of the University of Pennsylvania; and the curator, Mr. Stewart Culin, shows in his own name an interesting gathering of books used by the same people in this country. The place which toys may be made to take in museums illustrating folk-lore is well shown by a collection of toys representing Chinese and Japanese musical instruments by the same exhibitors. Mr. G. F. Kunz of New York exhibits a collection of precious stones, or valuable objects, employed as amulets, or with superstitious purposes. The Australian display contains illustrations of the Bora initiation ceremonies, and that of Africa representations of disguises employed in sacred rites not yet explained. As connected with mythology, the totem poles and carvings of the Haida of British Columbia will be observed. In the Government Building, Mr. Frank Hamilton Cushing has constructed a model of a Zuñi priest engaged in the celebration of the creation-myth. Outside of the exhibition buildings, the Midway Plaisance offers a continued spectacle of various life. The Javanese theatre is especially to be mentioned, as worthy of description and study.
The Anthropological Congress.—In the end, the plan of this Congress was so far altered that the arrangement in separate sections was abandoned. The Congress devoted to Folk-lore but one afternoon, on August 29, given to the Collection of Games in the Anthropological Building, and one morning, August 31, when a certain number of papers were presented. As these papers will hereafter appear in the proceedings of the Congress, it will not be necessary here to give an account of them. The attendance at the Congress, as at most of the scientific congresses, was limited; but the occasion was found pleasant by those who took part. Persons desirous to obtain the printed proceedings may send the subscription price ($5.00) to Mr. C. Staniland Wake, Department of Ethnology, Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Ill.
Aldegonda, the Fairy of Joy. An Italian Tale.—In a wellwritten editorial, or leader-review, in the “London Chronicle,” of the book entitled “Rabbit the Voodoo,” by Miss Mary Owen, the writer, in referring to my introduction to the latter work, intimated that I could probably not distinguish between what was American Indian and original Negro superstition or tradition, because savage races have the same bases of custom and belief. This view, like many others current among theorizing folklorists, is to a great extent deceptive. What were the absolute beginnings of anything in Nature, only Omnipotence can tell,—yet this is what folklorists for the most part seek, trying to dig a well with a needle, and neglecting what is for the time being their proper work,—namely, identifying, with given phases of culture, what belongs to each.
A tradition, when it has received color, and, as one may say, size and form, so that it manifestly belongs to a certain cultus, has to the mere beginnings, which men hunt so zealously through variants, exactly the same proportion as some beautiful cathedral to its deeply buried foundation or crypt. I have with my own eyes seen an English clergyman demolish the greater portion of a very fine and well-preserved Perpendicular church, because he had unfortunately dug out of the whitewash a solitary little, old, and unornamented Early English window, or rather peep-hole. The whole church was forthwith “restored” into Early English! He will not idly read this tale—non modicam ex hoc demetes frugem—who will reflect that any grubber can collect out of books and pile up variants, but that to grasp the grandeur and glory of tradition and to feel its spirit is the real mission of learning.
I have been lately reminded of this manifest impression of time on the form of a legend by examining several traditions which had been collected for me, in Florence, by a woman alluded to in my “Etruscan Roman Traditions.” She is ever impecunious, and when reduced to living on air, like the wolves of François Villon, waylays me in the road, when a few francs change owner, and a promise is passed that traditional folk-lore shall be collected and written, as an equivalent. Then my agent goes about, among old women, into Florentine slums, and out into peasant homes, and anon delivers to me sheets of note-paper on which, in very pronounced Tuscan, is written a tale or two, cosa being given as chavusa, and many words divided, the first half tacked to its predecessor, and the last half to its follower, as certain worms, when dissected, amicably unite with pieces of their neighbors.
When I lately met my collector, she was, by her own account, going full speed to utter ruin,—ad inopiam, velis remisque properat,—with all sail set. She had been cited to be fined by the police, her landlord had warned her for a month’s arrears, all her clothes were in pawn,—she had in the world only a cent, and that was counterfeit. Result—five francs surrendered, and a week after sundry writings received.
One of these was called Oldegonda (Aldegonda), the Spirit of Joy. That there might be no mistake, the writer had put a real ivy leaf in the MS., partly to serve as an object lesson, and partly to aid in conjuring the Spirit, or in attracting her favor. And thus ran the legend of Oldegonda, la fata della Ellera (allegría), or the Fairy of Joy:—
Oldegonda, or Aldegonda, fairy of the country (della campagna), was found in a field when but a few days old. One day a contadino, passing by a forest, discovered a little animal which clung to his leg, and this creature was a hedge-hog, which led him to a mass of ivy, in which he found sleeping a beautiful little infant girl. Taking it home to his wife, he bade her treat it as their own child, and also be kind to the little animal,—che non le maneba altro che la favella,—who needed only speech to show a human soul.
But the woman disobeyed her husband, and was wont to kick the hedge-hog, and neglect Aldegonda, as the foundling had been called. For the woman had a daughter of her own, who grew in ugliness with every year, even as Aldegonda grew in beauty and gentleness, so that the former hated the latter with all her heart. And one day, when they were in the woods, the little hedge-hog led Aldegonda to the piles of ivy, where she sat in state. But the daughter of the peasant, seized with jealous rage, that the hedge-hog was only attentive to the other, cried,—
Siete due stregone!
Tu sei le bella strega
La strega dell’ ellera!
E tu spinone,
Tu sei il stregone!
Ye be sorcerers twain, I trow:
Beautiful witch of Joy be thou:
And thou, great beast with many a thorn,
A wizard, same as I am born!
Saying this, she seized the hedge-hog and threw him into the stream.
Now the hedge-hog was a young prince who had been cursed by a sorcerer or witch to remain in the form of an animal, until some one should cause him a violent death. With his fate was linked the love of Aldegonda. Therefore, when he sank into the water, the spell was broken; he rose, and gained the green bank of the forest, as a beautiful youth in splendid attire. And addressing the peasant girl, he said,—
Thou among witches
Shalt be the most malignant,
Thou who couldst never do one good action
Shall be an accursed cat,
But my beautiful Aldegonda
Shall be the lovely fairy,
The Fairy of Joy,
(And he who wishes a favor)
Shall call her with these words:
O beautiful Aldegonda,
Fair fairy of Joy!
By all which thou didst suffer!
For the time of twenty years,
From these peasant women,
As did thy hedge-hog lover,
Now that this is over,
And he is thy husband,
Bestow, I pray, a favor!
As with this leaf of ivy
I make a sign of the cross,
Which thou wilt surely grant!
I beg thee of thy grace,
Make my love return unto me!
Which thou wilt not deny;
I pray for luck in my home,
Which thou also wilt not deny.
And the sign of the cross must thus be made thrice, and the invocation every time repeated.
This tale, I may observe, is not of the popular traditional type of Grimm and Perrault, but belongs to the dark lore current among witches and sorcerers, in which the story, although always ancient, is a mere frame for the ceremony and incantation. The marked difference between these narratives and mere märchen is very striking, because the former are in all cases guarded jealously, as profound and even awful secrets or formulas. I know an English lady of Italian life, i. e., one born of Anglo-Italian parentage—who has for a long time been “in with the witches,” and she has never yet been able to get her most intimate strega to converse on sorcery, or repeat a line of a legend, except in the open air, far away from profane hearing. One reason for this is that all such stories, especially the incantations, are generally sung. This is done in a very peculiar tone of voice. It sometimes requires years to get the right intonation which renders a certain incantation effective. Therefore, if one were to be heard singing alla strega, or in witch tunes, to a young lady, there would be a “difficulty.”
Charles Godfrey Leland.
Florence, Italy, 1893.
The Burial of the Wren.—I inclose a version of the song of the wren, a little different from the one printed in a recent number of the Journal. The variant is contributed by a young Irishman from Skibbereen. But why is the wren called the “king of all birds,” and what is the meaning of the song?
Mrs. Lucien Howe, Buffalo, N. Y.
The wren, the wren, the king of all birds,
St. Stephen’s day it was caught in the furze;
Although it is little, its family is great.
Cheer up my landlady and fill us a treat,
And if you fill it of the best,
In heaven I hope your soul will rest;
But if you fill it of the small,
It won’t agree with the wren boys at all.
Sing holly, sing ivy, sing ivy, sing holly,
To sing a bad Christmas is all but a folly.
On Christmas day I turned the spit,
I burned my fingers, I feel it yet;
Between the finger and the thumb,
There lies a big blister, as large as a plum.
I hunted my wren five miles or yon,
Through hedges, ditches, briars, and bushes I knocked him down.
So here he is, as you may see,
Upon the top of a holly-tree.
With a bunch of ribbons by its side,
And the Cork boys to be her guide.
Shake, shake, shake of the box,
All silver and no brass,
Up with the kettle and down with the pot,
Give us our answer, and let us begone.
Come now, mistress, shake your feathers,
Don’t you think that we are beggars;
We are the boys came here to play,
So give us our money and let us go away.
[As to our correspondent’s request for information, reference may be made to the discussion of J. G. Frazer, in “The Golden Bough,” (Lond. 1890), ii. 140 f. The custom has been prevalent in France, as well as in Great Britain and Ireland. In the Isle of Man, on Christmas Eve, the wren was hunted, killed, and fastened on the top of a pole. It was then carried from house to house, the bearers, meanwhile, chanting an appeal similar to that above given, at the same time collecting money. The wren was then laid on a bier and buried with much solemnity. The rite, according to another account, is described as taking place on St. Stephen’s Day (December 26th). The bird, in the latter case, was hung in the centre of two crossing hoops, decorated with evergreen and ribbons. In the song, reference is said to have been made to boiling and eating the bird. The money collected appears to have been employed for a feast at night. English and Irish usages were substantially identical.
As to the significance of the custom, it is only clear that it must have been a survival of a sacred rite. Mr. Frazer gives Asiatic parallels, but these are not very close, nor indeed are the accounts complete or sufficient. His own conclusion is that the custom is the remains of a pastoral sacrament, in which the animal god is killed and sacramentally eaten. That the wren has in some degree a sacred character is made probable by the superstitions relating to the bird. But the whole subject is obscure.]
W. W. N.
Modern Additions to Indian Myths, and Indian Thunder Superstitions.—The following remarks were made by the undersigned at the Annual Meeting, 1892:—
1. On Mr. W. W. Newell’s paper, entitled Examples of Forgery in Folk-Lore: (a) Some of the myths obtained from the Omahas and Ponkas bear marks of European origin, e. g., one of the Orphan who had a magic sword and two magic dogs; rescued a chief’s daughter from a water monster; cut off heads of monster, took the seven tongues home; black man got heads, claimed chief’s daughter as wife; was detected and killed; Orphan won chief’s daughter (Contra. to N. A. Ethnology, vol. vi. pp. 108–131.) Some of the writer’s Omaha informants were French half-bloods. (b) There have been modern additions made to myths. An Omaha stated that he made up part of the myth of the Big Turtle who went on the war-path. (c) When the writer was revising his material before preparing his article on “Omaha Sociology,” he was furnished by one of the tribe (a prominent ex-chief, now dead,) with several riddles, that appeared in “Omaha Sociology” as genuine Omaha riddles. Not until 1888 did he learn by accident that the riddles in question were versions of some that the children of his informant had read in “The Youth’s Companion”(!) The informant was not a man to tell a wilful lie.
2. Remarks on Miss Alger’s papers, one being, Survival of Fire-sacrifice among Indians in Maine: (a) When the first thunder is heard in the spring the Thunder Being is invoked by the Omaha and Ponka Indians. In the case of the former people, the Black Bear people go to the mysterious war tent of the Elk people, whom they assist in the invocation of the Thunder Being, whom they call “Grandfather.” When the Black Bear people of the Ponka tribe invoke the Thunder Being on such an occasion, they say, “Ho, Grandfather, by your brandishing (your club) you are frightening us, your grandchildren, who are here. Depart on high.” (b) The chief of one of the two Kansas war gentes, Pa-han-le ga-qli, gave the writer a copy of his mystic war chart, saying that in the middle should appear a representation of fire, but he dared not make it unless he had fasted and prayed for several days, lest he should be struck by lightning. (c) No respectable Omaha girl dare walk alone. She must go with another girl, when not accompanied by her mother or some other near relation. Any man, not a near kinsman, who spoke to young girls that he chanced to meet, was sure to be punished. (d) With reference to the worm killed by the Thunder, compare the Dakota belief as to the conflicts that have occurred between the Unkteqi or Water powers (the Waktceqi of the Winnebago) and the Wa-kinyan (“Flying Ones”) or Thunder Beings. These water powers (the males) are supposed to dwell in rivers, while the females inhabit streams that exist beneath the hills. (e) The legend of the Moose Woman resembles two Omaha myths: In that of the Chief’s Son and the Snake Woman, the latter person warns her husband against courting another woman; when he does so, she disappears. In the story of the Man who had for his wives a Buffalo Woman and a Corn Woman, the Man pursues his fleeing Buffalo wife and her son; when he reaches a river, he takes a magic plume from his hair, blows on it, and, as it is wafted across the river, he becomes the plume, reaches the other bank, overtakes his wife and son, and finally recovers them. (See “Popular Science Monthly,” September, 1893.)
J. Owen Dorsey.
Writing to the Rats.—A member of my family remembers a case of writing to the rats. It occurred in Lunenburg, Mass., perhaps fifty years ago. One day a neighbor of my grandfather’s came in and triumphantly announced that at last she was going to be free of the rats; she had written to them. Her letter was as follows: “If you don’t leave this house, I’ll get a cat.” It seems to me as amusing, in its way, as that of the Maine man. It might be called a telegram to the rats, for these were exactly her words. The proclamation was posted up, I believe, in the cellar.
H. D. Rolfe.
Concord, Mass., June, 1893.
Italian Folk-Lore Society.—In a private letter, Professor A. de Gubernatis states that by the month of November he expects to secure the five hundred subscribers necessary for the execution of his project of an Italian folk-lore society. In Calabria, Apulia, and Sardinia, especially, his appeal has been responded to. Her Majesty Queen Marguerita has particularly interested herself in these researches; and the minister of public instruction has issued a circular which recommends to professors and teachers the study of popular traditions. The society is to issue a journal, entitled “Rivista delle tradizioni popolari italiano,” and also a series of volumes, to be known as “Biblioteca del folk-lore italiano.” The annual subscription will be twelve lire ($2.40); members will be permitted to obtain volumes of the “biblioteca” at a reduction of fifty per cent. Local directors will be appointed in the various districts of Italy; every three years a congress, entitled “Congresso Nationale dei Folkloristi italiani,” will be held with a view of discussing questions which relate to Italian folk-lore. Subscriptions should be sent to Angelo de Gubernatis, Presidente Onorario, Professore nell’ Università di Roma, Rome, Italy.